Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing

Abstract Hyaluronic acid was crosslinked using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide to form hydrogels with low elastic modulus. These hydrogels were swollen in water and the elastic modulus was obtained with a contact mechanics approach in ambient conditions using a...

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Main Authors: Rachel Lee, Emily K. Hall, Bassam A. Aljohani, Jake McClements, Marloes Peeters, Mark Geoghegan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-025-06878-3
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author Rachel Lee
Emily K. Hall
Bassam A. Aljohani
Jake McClements
Marloes Peeters
Mark Geoghegan
author_facet Rachel Lee
Emily K. Hall
Bassam A. Aljohani
Jake McClements
Marloes Peeters
Mark Geoghegan
author_sort Rachel Lee
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Hyaluronic acid was crosslinked using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide to form hydrogels with low elastic modulus. These hydrogels were swollen in water and the elastic modulus was obtained with a contact mechanics approach in ambient conditions using a low-load mechanical tester under compression. The modulus was measured during both the approach and retraction of the cylindrical probe into the gel and was found to be of the order of 30 kPa. The modulus was also measured from a stress-strain curve (47 kPa), in reasonable agreement with the contact mechanics approach. However, nanoindentation and rheology measurements reveal much smaller moduli, indicating that the technique used interrogates different length scales within the gel. This has profound implications for the applications of hydrogels used, for example, in tissue engineering. The values reported here are likely to be appropriate for applications where contact with the spinal cord is necessary. It is argued that a contact mechanics approach is appropriate for the characterization of hydrogels for applications designed for contact with tissue. Graphical Abstract
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spelling doaj-art-547971611c6240a59e4e229363b19d112025-08-20T04:01:47ZengSpringerJournal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine1573-48382025-07-013611910.1007/s10856-025-06878-3Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testingRachel Lee0Emily K. Hall1Bassam A. Aljohani2Jake McClements3Marloes Peeters4Mark Geoghegan5School of Engineering, Newcastle UniversityDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of SheffieldSchool of Engineering, Newcastle UniversitySchool of Engineering, Newcastle UniversitySchool of Engineering, Newcastle UniversitySchool of Engineering, Newcastle UniversityAbstract Hyaluronic acid was crosslinked using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide to form hydrogels with low elastic modulus. These hydrogels were swollen in water and the elastic modulus was obtained with a contact mechanics approach in ambient conditions using a low-load mechanical tester under compression. The modulus was measured during both the approach and retraction of the cylindrical probe into the gel and was found to be of the order of 30 kPa. The modulus was also measured from a stress-strain curve (47 kPa), in reasonable agreement with the contact mechanics approach. However, nanoindentation and rheology measurements reveal much smaller moduli, indicating that the technique used interrogates different length scales within the gel. This has profound implications for the applications of hydrogels used, for example, in tissue engineering. The values reported here are likely to be appropriate for applications where contact with the spinal cord is necessary. It is argued that a contact mechanics approach is appropriate for the characterization of hydrogels for applications designed for contact with tissue. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-025-06878-3
spellingShingle Rachel Lee
Emily K. Hall
Bassam A. Aljohani
Jake McClements
Marloes Peeters
Mark Geoghegan
Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
title Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
title_full Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
title_fullStr Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
title_full_unstemmed Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
title_short Elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
title_sort elastic modulus of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by compression testing
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-025-06878-3
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